GHANAIANS
ONLY NEED A CORRECTION OF THE BILLING ERROR AND NOT A GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY
Critical
Thinkers International (CTI) will like to make it very clear that the subsidy
of electricity bills which has been mentioned by the President Mahama led
National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government which is intended to run from
this July to December, 2016 is a HUGE LIE only meant to trick Ghanaians into
voting for them during the 2016 general elections.
Actually,
for the next six months only (July to December, 2016), the Government is only
removing the huge amounts he in collaboration with the Electricity Company of
Ghana(ECG) intentionally and insensitively placed on the respective bills of
the various electricity customers, and certainly not a subsidy by the Government
as it wants us to believe.
Below are
our reasons;
After
customers of electricity in Ghana made a huge public outcry over the recent
overbillings which has run for a couple of months now, the Government has
proposed a monthly 50 million Ghana Cedis subsidy for electricity customers
starting from 1st July, 2016 to December, 2016, which will run into a total of
300 million Ghana Cedis, after which, there will be a review.
But CTI
find this subsidy proposed by Government as its solution to the current overbilling
problem as very illogical and contradictory, because after this overbilling
issue popped up, we were told by the Government, the ECG, the Parliament and
the Public Utility Regulatory commission(PURC) that it was an ERROR and so it
will be rectified soon with refunds to affected customers as well.
Customers
were told of two reasons for this overbilling problem and they were;
1. A
billing system programming/Software error- ECG
CTI's
Solution: A rewrite of the billing system programme by an IT expert or a total
change of the software.
2.
Inclusion of high taxes in electricity bills by Government-Parliamentary
Committee on Mines and Energy
CTI's
Solution: Removal/reduction of the taxes by the Government
So how
therefore can a subsidy by Government be a solution to any of these problems
stated above?
Note, a
subsidy can not be a solution to a billing system programming/software error or
an insentitive inclusion or/and increment of taxes on electricity bills, but
rather, it can only be a tool to help ease the burden of people paying for a
cost that is rightly due them. And since we are currently not paying for
electricity bills that is rightly due us, the proposal of a subsidy by
Government as the solution to this current billing problem is a wrong one and
therefore not needed.
It also
goes on to mean people living in Ghana were lied to about the actual cause of
this insentitive electricity overbilling by ECG and Government.
Aside the
above, the country is also very much aware of the huge amount of money the
Government owes ECG and its inability to pay, which is also one of the reasons
for the huge problems the ECG and the Volta River Authority(VRA) are going
through currently.
How can a
man who can not pay his bills/debts help pay the bills/debts of another man?
This is certainly illogical.
To conclude
CTI will like to push the following to Government and ECG.
1.
Customers of electricity in the country do not need this non existent subsidy
of theirs, it is not necesssary.
Actually,
customers only need the Government to task the ECG to correct whatever reasons
brought about this overbilling problem and through that return Ghanaians to the
previous billing rate that truly was due
them.
2. We will
want the ECG to frankly brief Ghanaians on what actually brought about this
overbilling problem.
3.
Government should task the ECG to refund the money of all customers who were
overbilled due to this error.
4. The
Government should with speed clear all its debts it owes the ECG.
Thank you.
Hhhmm, may God
be praised always
.........SIGNED.......
Critical
Thinkers International
[Creative
Minds; Changing The World]
criticalthinkersintl@gmail.com
www.criticalthinkersghanablogspot.com
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